Padmavati is Now Padmaavat, Justice Manmohan Singh is IPAB Chairman, Madras HC Allows Release of Thaana Serndha Koottam and More Weekly Copyright And Entertainment Law News and Updates

Indian Copyright Statistics, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati is now Padmaavat, Justice Manmohan Singh appointed as IPAB Chairman, Sony PIX signs a deal with Warner Bros, and more is presented by the Copyright and Entertainment Law Attorneys and experts of BananaIP Counsels, India’s Premier New Age IP Firm

COPYRIGHT QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“One cannot help wondering how deletion of one letter makes a difference to the censors’ filters” – Dr. Kalyan C Kankanala

INDIAN COPYRIGHT STATISTICS

There was an increase of 60.28% in the total number of copyright filings compared to the last week. A total of 231 applications were filed for copyright registration during the last week. While most of the applications were filed for literary works only 1 application was filed for registering Sound Recordings.

Sr. No

Types of Work

Number of Applications Previous Week

Number of Applications This Week

Percentage Change

1

Literary Works

93

173

60.15%

2

Musical works

7

13

60%

3

Artistic works

10

28

94.7%

4

Cinematograph Films

3

8

90%

5

Sound Recordings

0

1

100%

6

Software

15

8

60.8%

Total

124

231

60.28%

INDIAN COPYRIGHTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW UPDATES

Justice Manmohan Singh appointed as IPAB Chairman

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has appointed Justice Manmohan Singh, a retired judge of the Delhi High Court, as the acting Chairman of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). The Chairman post was remaining vacant since May 2016 after the retirement of Justice K M Basha.

Madras High Court allows release of Suriya’s new film

Last Friday, the Madras High Court allowed the release of Suriya starrer Thaana Serndha Koottam in both Tamil and Telugu languages after disposing of an interim petition filed by Staar Movies, the production house owned by actor Prashant, against its release. Thaana Serndha Koottam is a remake of the hit Bollywood movie Special 26. Staar Movies claimed that it has entered into an agreement with the Producers of Special 26, Viacom 18 and obtained remake rights of the movie in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. However, Studio Green, the producers of Thaana Serndha Koottam argued that the application for the interim injunction should not be entertained since it had been filed just days before the release of the Film. The learned Single Judge of the Madras High Court accepted this plea and allowed the release of the Film and decided to consider all contentious issue during the hearing of the main suit.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati is now Padmaavat

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s epic drama Padmavati was finally cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification after a few modifications. Out of these modifications, one was that the Film should be renamed as Padmaavat. Accepting this decision, the official Twitter and Facebook handles of the Film have changed its title from Padmavati to Padmaavat. The film is expected to hit theaters on 25th January 2018.

INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW UPDATES

Singers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill in copyright trouble

On Wednesday, two Australians, Sean Carey and Beau Golden, filed a complaint before a New York Federal court, alleging that Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s track titled ‘The Rest of Our Life,’ is a “blatant copy” of their own 2014 song, “When I Found You.” In the present suit, Carey and Golden are seeking injunctive relief and at least $5 million USD in damages plus profits and royalty in addition to an award for attorney’s fees and costs.

LICENSING AND MERCHANDISING UPDATES

Sony PIX signs a deal with Warner Bros

The Hollywood film channel by Sony India Networks Limited has inked a multi-year content deal with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. This would add several popular and critically acclaimed films such as ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Matrix’, ‘Hangover’, ‘Conjuring’, ‘Final Destination’, ‘Oceans’, ‘Batman Vs Superman’, ‘Wonder Woman’ and Shawshank Redemption to Sony Pix’s catalogue. “We are pleased to have completed this deal with Sony Pix enabling SPN to bring our films to television viewers in India. We are confident that the diverse selection of films will offer something different for fans of all genres.” Said Jeffrey Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution in his statement.

BIP Tip of the Week

Interim Injunction and Film Releases

Acquiring an interim injunction to stop release of films is becoming difficult by the day. In the recent past, courts have point out that the delay in approaching the court would prove to be an important factor in an equitable remedy like that of an interim injunction to prevent the release of the film . It is advisable for copyright holders/ exclusive licenses to approach the court as soon as they become aware of a potentially infringing film release in order to overcome issues with respect to delay in approaching the court.

Author: BIP’s Copyright and Entertainment Law Attorneys

Led by Sanjeeth Hegde, Senior Partner, the entertainment law attorneys at BIP are among the well-known lawyers in the field. They work with clients such as Yash Raj Films, Dharma Productions, Ananda Audio, Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh, and Arka Media (Producer of Bahu Bali). BIP’s entertainment law team helps clients protect, manage and effectively license and merchandise their creative works such as films, music, brands and other content, to maximize financial returns.

The weekly copyright and entertainment law news initiative is a part of their pro bono work, and is aimed at spreading entertainment law awareness. You are free to share the news with appropriate attribution and backlink to the source.

If you have any questions, you may write to BIP’s Copyright and Entertainment Law Attorneys – [email protected].